NAPOLEON
BONAPARTE
(1799-1815)
BACKGROUND
 Born in 1769 in Corsica
 Went to military school in north France;
1785: at age of 16 became a lieutenant
in the artillery
 Joined the army of the Legislative
Assembly during the revolution
EARLY CAREER
 Defended France against an attack by royalist
rebels in 1785- hailed as savior of the French
republic
 1796- appointed by Directory to lead French
army vs. Austria and the Kingdom of Sardiniawon many victories in Italy and Austria
 Led an expedition to Egypt to protect French
trade interests- not successful-Napoleon
defeated by the British- Napoleon kept reports
out of the press
1799: COUP D’ETAT
 Nov. 9- Napoleon put in charge of the
military
 Nov. 10- Napoleon’s troops drove out
one chamber of the national legislature;
legislature voted to dissolve the
Directory
 Napoleon became first consul as a result
of a plebiscite (vote of the people)
 1804- Napoleon crowns himself emperor
Napoleon as emperor- what
does he look like?
ANSWER:
A King!!!
Napoleon crowns himself
emperor
Who traditionally
crowned the emperor?
What was Napoleon
trying to show here?
This (again) proves
that “absolute power
corrupts absolutely!!!”
Napoleon’s Domestic
Policy (after he
centralized power in his
own hands) brings order
to France
ACTIONS/REFORMS:
The Economy
 Set up a fairer tax code
 Set up a national bank
 Stabilized currency
 Gave state loans to businesses
ACTIONS/REFORMS:
Government and Society
 Appointed officials by merit
 Fired corrupt officials
 Created lycees (public schools)
 Created a uniform code of laws:
Napoleonic Code
ACTIONS/REFORMS:
Religion
 Recognized Catholicism as “faith of
Frenchmen”
 Signed concordat with Pope
 Retained seized church lands
HOMEWORK
 Which goals of the revolution did
Napoleon achieve?
 If you had been a member of the
bourgeoisie in Napoleon’s France, would
you have been satisfied with the results
of Napoleon’s actions? Why or why not?
 Based on Napoleon’s reforms at home, was
Napoleon a better or worse leader at this
point than Louis XVI? Explain.
THOUGHT QUESTION:
Based on Napoleon’s
Reforms at home, is
Napoleon a better or
worse leader at this point
than Louis XVI? Explain.
HOMEWORK
Create a cover page for Napoleon on page
9 in your notebook that includes:
 A picture of Napoleon (drawn or printed
out)
 A quote that best applies to Napoleon
with explanation
 Ten words/adjectives “splashed” on the
page to describe who Napoleon was
 At least 3 colors
NAPOLEON: A hero
to some, an evil force
to others
NAPOLEON QUOTE:
“Frenchmen, without a doubt, you will
see in what I did that I am a soldier
who supports liberty and am a
citizen who is devoted to the
Republic”
NAPOLEON QUOTE:
“I am destined to change the
FACE of the world”
Read “How Did France
Change Under Napoleon”
How was Napoleon’s rule different from
Louis XVI’s? How was it similar? Show
these differences and similarities in a
Venn Diagram.
Napoleon Activities
2. In what ways did Napoleon
reform the education system in
France?
 He set up public schools where any
MALE could attend regardless of social
standing
 Set up public schools-primary,
secondary, lycees (military schools), and
technical schools
 Science and math were important
subjects in secondary schools
3. Which aspects of Napoleon’s
education system did not change?
 Primary schools remained the same as
before
 Poor women were still not encouraged to
go to school
4. In what ways were the governments of
King Louis XVI (pre-Revolution) and
Napoleon different?
• There was no National Assembly under
Louis but there were 2 National Assemblies
under Napoleon
• Louis XVI had total power, but under
Napoleon, all MEN could vote
5. In what ways were they
similar?
 Both took total power
 After 1804 (when Napoleon crowned
himself emperor), there were no
elections as there were no elections
under Louis
6. Read the Napoleonic
Code. List the points of
the code which you
think are fair/unfair.
FAIR
 All people were declared equal before
the law. There were no longer any
special privileges for nobles, churchmen,
or rich people
 Feudal rights were ended
 Trial by Jury was guaranteed
 Religious Freedom was guaranteed
 Parents were given powers over their
children
REASONS
 All of these rights guarantee freedoms
for all regardless of social standing
 Parents should have more rights than
their children as long as their reasonable
UNFAIR
 Wives were not allowed to sell or give
away property
 A wife could only own property with her
husband’s consent in writing
 Fathers were allowed to imprison their
children for any time up to a month
REASONS
 Women do not have equal rights- only
based on gender
 Parents should not be able to imprison
their children
7. How did Napoleon try to restrict
individual rights and freedoms?
 He had a secret police force which from
1810 could arrest people without trial
 He tried to censor and control the
newspapers
 Free speech was not allowed in France
or the French Empire
8. Why do you think Napoleon felt
it was so important to control the
press?
 “If the press is not controlled, I shall not
remain three days in power” -Napoleon
 Free press would cause debate of ideas,
which is what led to the overthrow of
Louis XVI
9. How did Napoleon try to
control religion in France?
 He said that Bishops are to be chosen
only by himself (Napoleon)
 Napoleon crowned HIMSELF emperor of
France- to show the French that he was
in charge
10. What was the
appeal of Napoleon to
the peasants, nobility?
PEASANTS
 Allowed peasants to keep land
 Restored Catholic Church to former
importance
 No longer had to pay tithes
Nobility
 Nobles offered ‘king-like’ stability
 Created titles for some
 Set up the “Legion of Honour”
11. Read some of the things said
by Napoleon (on all of the
sheets). What do these
extracts tell us about
Napoleon’s attitude towards:
a. His role as Emperor?
b. Women?
c. The Media?
d. The lower classes?
His role as Emperor
 After 1804, there were no elections
 After 1810 he imprisoned people without
trial
 He took power over the church
Women
 Women are only good for getting married
and having children
 Women should not participate in
government or get a public education
 Women are subordinate to their
husbands
 Women are not equal to men
The Media
 The Media should be controlled
 The media should put himself
(Napoleon) into a positive light
The lower classes
 “The ignorant class will no longer
exercise their influence on making laws
or on government”
 BUT: Napoleon did try to appease the
peasants- see question 10 a.
12. How did Napoleon improve
France’s cities and towns?
 He ordered the building of new roads,
canals, and bridges
 Invested in improving older buildings,
especially in Paris
 Planned a better network of roads for
Paris
Louis XVI
Napoleon
DIFFERENCES
LOUIS XVI
NAPOLEON
•Allowed only the privileged to go to school
•allowed everyone to go to school
•There were 2 National Assemblies
•There was no National Assembly
•All men could vote
•Louis XVI had total power
•Napoleon acquired position through a coup d’etat
•Louis XVI born into position of King
•Everyone was equal in the courts, no one was put into
•Could put you into prison without charge
prison without a trial UNTIL 1810
•Clergy (church) held a high gov’t position, •Although Catholicism was recognized as the state religion,
owned a lot of land, paid few taxes
Napoleon retained church lands
• Only members of the first and second estates
Men (not women) had more rights under Napoleon,
Such as equalized taxation
Had rights, privileges
•Economy was stabilized under Napoleon
•Economy was unstable under Louis
•Officials were appointed based on merit
•Officials were appointed based on rank
SIMILARITIES
 Both could not be voted out of power
 Both controlled the newspapers and
freedom of speech
 After 1810, Napoleon used a secret
police force which imprisoned people
without a fair trial
 Both were (or became) corrupt
 Both offered “king-like” stability
Napoleon’s Grand
Empire
1804: Napoleon creates an empire.
Napoleon was happy to be
emperor of France, BUT…
HE WAS BORED!!!
(He had dreams of
building a huge
empire)
ACTION
Napoleon sent 23,000
soldiers to Saint
Domingue to get colony
back after a slave
uprising by Toussaint
L’Ouverture (1803)
GOAL
To maintain an overseas
empire
RESULT (S)
 Slaves in Saint Domingue were difficult
to defeat
 Thousands of French soldiers died of
yellow fever
 Napoleon gave up hope of overseas
empire- focused his attention on
conquering Europe
ACTION
Napoleon sold
Louisiana Territory to
the U.S. for $15
million
GOAL
To conquer Europe- use
monies from Louisiana
Purchase to do so
Help build up the U.S. to at
some point humble Great
Britain
RESULT(S)
Sold Louisiana for $15
mil; ,lost opportunity
to have an overseas
empire
ACTION
Fought against Third
Coalition (Great
Britain, Austria,
Russia, Prussia, and
Sweden)
GOAL
To conquer Europe
RESULT(S)
 Beat the Third Coalition
 Countries in the Third Coalition were
now under Napoleon’s control
 Napoleon is on his way to conquer
Europe!
ACTION
Battle of Trafalgarnaval defeat
against Britain off
the coast of Spain
GOAL
To defeat/conquer
Great Britain
RESULT(S)
Proved supremacy of the
British navy
Forced Napoleon to give
up hopes of invading
Britain
NAPOLEON’S 3
MISTAKES
NAPOLEON’S 3 MISTAKES
MISTAKE
1.
2.
3.
EFFECT ON EMPIRE
MISTAKE #1
The Continental System (1806-1810)
 Napoleon’s policy to forbid the
continent of Europe to trade or
communicate with Great Britain
 Purpose: to weaken Britain’s
economy, make continental Europe
self-sufficient
EFFECT ON EMPIRE
 Weakened France economically
(deprived of cotton and “addictive
substances” from Britain i.e. coffee,
sugar, tobacco, cocoa)
 Britain was hurt too but were able to
smuggle goods into Europe through the
Baltic and Adriatic Seas
MISTAKE #2
Peninsular War Napoleon invaded Portugal (for not
obeying the Continental System) through
Spain
 Spanish rebel- fear that Napoleon will
weaken the Catholic Church
 Napoleon makes his brother Joseph the
King of Spain
EFFECT ON EMPIRE
 Napoleon lost 300,000 troops
 Napoleon lost military support
 European countries (GB, Prussia, Spain
(rebels), and Russia) unite against
France
 Turns the tide against Napoleon
MISTAKE #3
Invasion of Russia Napoleon fears that Alexander I will take
Poland
 Russia sold grain to Great Britain
EFFECT ON EMPIRE
 Russia used a scorched earth policy-
burned Moscow, fields, killed livestock,
 Napoleon went in with 600,000 troops,
left with 10,000- a defeated man
Create a 6 event
timeline of Napoleon’s
downfall
Use pages 591-592 in text
NAPOLEON’S DOWNFALL
 1814- Napoleon is defeated by Prussia
and Russia, forced to abdicate (give up)
throne
 1814- Napoleon is exiled to Elba; Louis
XVIII becomes King
 1815-Napoleon escapes from Elba,
returns to France
NAPOLEON’S DOWNFALL
(CONT.)
 1815-Napoleon regains the throne in
France for a “Hundred Days”
 1815- Napoleon is defeated once again
by European powers at Waterloo
 1816- Napoleon is exiled to St. Helena
 1821- Napoleon dies